“Frustration Builds for Democrats” exposed to reality

Democrats in Congress face institutional hurdles to challenging the president. Senate Democrats have a majority well short of the 60 votes needed to block Republican filibusters on issues — such as national security — where the president’s party is united behind him.Also, Democratic senators represent more diverse constituencies than House members, whose districts are mostly safe. Yet even in the House, Democratic leaders know their narrow majority rests on the few members from moderate swing districts who may be imperiled by sharp left turns.

It is much easier, by contrast, for Democratic presidential candidates to jockey for positions on the left — as many supporters demand — before moving toward the political middle ground after they have won the nomination. All the major Democratic presidential aspirants, including the four senators with a vote on the issue, oppose Mr. Mukasey, just as they have also enunciated a tougher antiwar stance than their congressional wing.

In short, childish, simplistic slogans such as “out of Iraq now” and “impeach Bush” may — unfortunately — work great in elections, but they’re no way to govern, and none but the most childish and simplistic legislators try to govern by them. Our best hope: The far left, which in fact lives by these slogans in its fantasy world, breaks off its support of Democrats who govern like moderates, and put it behind a vain third party effort. More likely, though, is that they’ll go back to the well with those same institutional Democrats, and get fooled again.